cohen



(No Model.)

S. L. COHEN.

PLAYING CARDS.

Patented Feb; 21,1882.

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

SOLOMON L. COHEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PLAYING-CARDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 253,91Q, dated February 21, 1882.

Application filed January 10,1682. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SOLOMON -L. COHEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Playing-Cards, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of playing-cards that have an emblem or symbol near the corner of each card of a pack to indicate the respective grade or characteristics of each card independent of the conventional denominative illustration. Cards of this description are known as squeezers, theobject being to inform the player by partially openingthe hand dealt to him what cards he holds without completely displaying their face. I have found by experience that the emblems and symbols in use but partially effect this purpose. They are necessarily diminutive in size, and being all of the same generic character there is great liability, without the most careful scrutiny, to misinterpret the ordinary emblems and symbols.

The nature and object of my invention are to overcome these objections, and I carry out my invention by providing in a pack of playingcards a distinctive emblem for the counter picture cards of a character entirely diverse from those placedupon whatareknown as thespot or pi p cards, andI employ this diverse characteristic either singly or in combination with 7 other generic or special emblems.

My distinctive court-card indicia may be applied simply to the court-cards of a pack, leaving the remainder-via, the pip or spot cardswithout any corner emblems,in which case on all cards of the pack except the courbcards there will be no determinate value of their grade or character, other than their conventional face illustrations, or my distinctive courtcard emblems may be used in combination with other diverse indicia. on the spot or pip cards.

Referring to the drawings that accompany this application, Figure 1 represents a courtcard embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 represents a spot-card with the ordinary squeezer emblem. Figs. 3,4, 5, 6 represent modifications wherein the four court-cards are each respectively provided with a diverse corner emleads to confusion and mistakes-ms, for instance, Fig. 2 represents a four of diamonds. Near its corn er is a small numeral, 4, and adiminutive diamond. The only difference between this and a four of hearts would be the substitution of a heart for a diamond. In a king the only change would be to substitute-a K for a 4, leading often to serious errors. So an ace would have a letter A. These three indicia are selected in order to show that the similarity of configuration, being small in size, occasions endless confusion. The preferable manner I employ to overcome these Objections is to carry out the margin or frame lines surrounding the illustration on the court-cards beyond their angle of coincidence, crossing each other at right angles, as shown in Fig. 1, toward the outer edges of the card. As an ace has no marginal lines on its face, I place on such cards a small dash or line, or a complete rectangular border may be placed on an ace, the same, as on the other court-cards, such modifications being illustrated on Fig. 1, A B. The operation of my invention is fully represented in Fig. 7, wherein five cards are spread partially open, said cards-being four different court-cards and a single spot-card, the four court-cards being each provided with one of my distinctive emblems in addition to the conventional squeezer emblem, and the pip card,

which in the drawings is the four of diamonds,

has no illustration other than that of the conventional character.

I do not claim broadly as my invention corner emblems on cards; but

What I do claim is-- 1. A pack of playing-cards provided with indicative em blems independent of the face illus trations, the court-cards of which have additional emblems'diverse to those on the rest of the pack, adapted to distinctly designate the several court-cards from the other cards when blem distinct from each other, anddistinctfrom displayed, substantially as described. the emblems on the cards of other character in 10' 2. A pack of playing-cards, the court-cards the pack, substantially as described.

of which have lines parallel to their side edges 5 and carried out close to said side edges, substantially as described.

3. In a pack of playing-cards, each class of court-cards provided with a designating-emsoL. L. COHEN.

Witnesses:

ALBERT ASNER, STANLY A. COHEN. 

